Triskaidekaphobics beware!

WILL 13 REGISTRATION PLATES SPELL TROUBLE FOR CAR DEALERS?

I have written about this before (here) but as time gets nearer and nearer it may be time to see just what car dealers are doing and thinking of doing to convince people that 13 is not that unlucky and that a car with a 13 number on the plate doesn’t mean that it is going to crash a lot; that’s down to the driver.

There were rumours a while back that suggested that the Driver & Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) would let drivers subsitute a 62 for the 13 on a registration plate, but no; the DVLA recently confirmed that all cars registered between 1st March and 31st August 2013 will carry a 13 series number plate, and now dealers are anxiously waiting to see if superstition will slow sales. It will at least give then another excuse.

What’s the problem? Will drivers seriously NOT buy a car because it has the number 13 on it? Obviously it is personal preference, but buyers may decide to wait until September 2013 when cars will have 63 on it instead. Fear of numbers is very common as is the regarding of a certain number as lucky (7, for example) but 13 has some grounding in a fear of itself with 13 being at the table at the Last Supper (in the Bible). But Jesus didn’t drive a car, so what’s the problem?

And if you have a 1 and a 3 next to each other on a number plate so it looks like the letter B – which is good news if you have that letter anywhere in your name. James Saperia from personalised number plate company Simply Registrations says: “While some people might avoid the 13 number plates, for others the number 13 could be just what they’ve been waiting for. Lots of options are opened up with combinations such as AL13 ERT, RO13 ERT and SU13 ARU all becoming available.

"Why did you get a 13 Plate?" "I didn't!"

“Motorists who religiously change their cars every three years will have been looking forward to their upgrade and may choose go ahead regardless of the number on their registration plate, while others who may not be superstitious themselves could be concerned with resale values of cars carrying a 13 number plate. They may decide to hold off for 6 months before buying that new car in order to protect their investment. Then, of course, there are buyers who genuinely feel that the number 13 will bring them bad luck.”

There is even a conspiracy theory that the DVLA didn’t let the 62 number plate stay so that drivers would have to buy a personalised number plate as they have just reduced the price. Maybe that’s the same people who have theories about JFK, Marilyn Monroe and the Moon landings?

Overall, I just hope that, for the car maker’s sake, that common sense prevails, and superstition doesn’t come into it as new registrations are available to buy right now.